Girls, Media, and the Negotiation of Sexuality: A Study of Race, Class, and Gender in Adolescent Peer Groups.

Durham, Meenakshi Gigi

Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, v76 n2 p193-216 Sum 1999

Examines how peer-group activity and social context affect middle-school girls' mass-media interactions. Shows emergent gender identity was consolidated via constant reference to acceptable sociocultural standards (which differed according to race and class) of femininity and sexuality. Concludes interventions such as media-literacy efforts must be sensitive to peer-group functioning around issues of race, class, and culture. (SR)